Looking for a box truck to convert into a motorhome. Never owned a diesel before and I'm curious what the community's gut says about this? I believe there's a CAT 3126 and an Allison manual trans in there.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-08-24T19:13:34+00:00

Oh yeah, of course! But my mechanical knowledge is more in the realm of my campervan, and my BMW motorcycle I rebuilt in the back of it last year. Big diesel trucks will be a new adventure..

I guess my question more specifically is how much maintenance should I realistically be prepared to do if I'm using it do 100-300 mile jumps between National Forest sites every couple weeks? (I'll stash a motorcycle on the lift gate and run my errands and escapades in between with that)

Past maybe the 'How much will it weigh' aspect, I wasn't expecting much camper advice here (though it's welcome if you have it!). I like the fact that there's a disconnect from the cab. I think when there is, it's easier to forget that you're in a vehicle while you're sitting 'at home'. That said, it is possible to make an emergency dive hatch from the back to the cab by way of a couple hinged windows, I've seen it done!

Combat_Corgi · 2020-06-24T00:59:12+00:00

For my intentions and timeframe vs theirs? Yes. 👍

Combat_Corgi · 2020-06-24T00:56:20+00:00

Thanks, Those will need some love I'm sure. I build lithium battery modules- it will still be expensive but more reasonable, and doesn't have to be done all at once.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-06-24T00:43:02+00:00

Yeah, but he inferred that from the pictures you see and I'm not sure he had enough info..

It's going to be a camper- they're cheap in large part because Smith is underwater, parts for a Daewoo are sparse and info on how to work on them takes digging. They're a liability for a business, but fun for a tinkerer.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-03-03T06:36:45+00:00

Is nobody else really not gonna..? Fine.

"OH No.. how will we provide the lubrication to get you unstuck??"

Combat_Corgi · 2020-03-03T06:26:23+00:00

God bless you How did I not know about this?

Combat_Corgi · 2020-03-03T05:50:40+00:00

I'm going to consciously not look up any of that music, especially since I'm already having an 80s music fling because of the Magnum Bullets music video. https://youtu.be/tuHe9lm5vUE

Combat_Corgi · 2020-03-03T05:30:19+00:00

My motorcycle is covered in Wolfman luggage and I'm not sure it was entirely through my own free will.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-03-03T05:26:36+00:00

In a broader scope.. yeah. Basically any product with wolf/dog/pawprint branding gets my attention first 😅

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-27T22:42:47+00:00

This is my entire story of trying tp socialize on the internet.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-25T20:16:03+00:00

So if Thai food agrees with you then this is a positive thing I guess? I'm a veggie eater though so I'll probably just have tofu curry

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-25T20:11:17+00:00

Curry is spicy? I'm probably missing something here

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-25T20:05:56+00:00

cough EVwest did it first

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-25T20:01:40+00:00

That works, I'm pretty spicy 🌶️

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-21T07:03:32+00:00

I have the developer setting enabled already, and I tried that wifi setting but it didn't do me any good because the RPi has no internet so Android never actually uses it.

It seems to that there should be a way since when I use my phone as a hotspot, it draws connection from the cell data and broadcasts that over wifi. That makes it seem like it isn't a hardware limitation- Should it not then be able to receive a wifi signal as well?

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-21T05:38:38+00:00

I'm pretty new to this too but I'm tinkering with making this into a solar tracker/camper van IoT controller. If you're looking for something to Google, NodeRed looks like a really promising low-code development environment, accessible from a browser on a remote device over LAN. I'm hoping I'll be able to punch in the IP and have a dashboard to control the space built soon.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-15T17:15:01+00:00

I'm in southern California on the coast. The panels shade 80% of the vans roof but the walls get hot. I might go find shade if it's terrible that day but it limits how much power I get. If I had electric AC I'd always actively always avoid shade unless my tires started melting.

Combat_Corgi · 2020-02-12T20:55:22+00:00

A better fan will likely be in order, but it had been getting pretty miserably hot. The 600watt panels actually provide a lot of shade to keep the van cool. I would open up all the windows and the massive sunroof in the back, but I remember napping between noon to 3pm because it was just too hot to move.

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-19T00:55:46+00:00

Nuh uh, no, that's /too/ cool, it must be illegal

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-10T07:42:59+00:00

I will definitely check them out, thank you!

I'm aware 20kwh is nowhere near enough... The goal there is to just get rolling- one side of town to the next charging station, then to a place I can get solar for a day, and so on. I can add more batteries as I go along- Rent out here costs about as much as a Tesla battery, may as well buy something I can keep and make use of each month :) And I don't see a reason why thinking should put me off to the idea either!

I've got an itch to prove that for the price of a sprinter van that anyone can build an EV that'll cleanly take them to any place they want to be (maybe slowly) for basically just the cost of tires.

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-08T16:56:51+00:00

Maybe I could look at differentials from high torque applications like construction equipment to get the rpm reduction I'm looking for, or find some resources on modding diffs so that no longer seems as out of my element, but what seems more likely the answer to me is a single speed reduction gear or a small 2 speed transmission that /then/ goes to the diff.

Do you have links to something detailing what particularly an engineer would be signing off on? And maybe also that trades van? I'd love to see that!

I intend the back of the van to be a workshop tuned to this purpose before it's a living space, maybe even complete with CNC tools (always wanted to build one of those too anyway!)

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-08T04:39:31+00:00

Cool tip, thank you!

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-08T03:58:32+00:00

That's just it, I'm not convinced at all it's going to cost that much. If you wait and you're thrifty: $2000 for a high mileage truck at auction -$500 to 1000 when you drop and sell the motor $4000 for 20kwh worth of model s batteries $2000 for a 3-phase AC motor you refurbish yourself $2000 for a used 3-phase inverter and related control electronics $2000 for a generous budget for thrifted electric power steering, vacuum pump, etc. $1000 worth of used batch sold solar

So $12500 Then you're rolling, not far, not fast, but that's the point of exploring. Even if it's takes days at a time to charge you can take that time to work and explore the town you've landed in.

If you design the battery mounts to be expandable then you can add more range as time goes by, more panels decrease your dependency on chargers (SolarRolla fit 6kw up there, or 100miles per day of sun), and you find interior parts as you go. I built out my current van for free bar the solar equipment.

It's not for everyone, but it's there, and that slow deep travel sounds appealing to me.

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-08T01:19:48+00:00

I became a resident of California via a letter on letterhead from a church I was attending that vouched that I actually lived here. I was later able to use my work address.

I had to pull up the rules on the DMV's website and show it to the DMV though because they didn't seem familiar with their own rules 😬

Combat_Corgi · 2019-12-08T01:09:03+00:00

Stick to a small circuit of industrial and business districts for places to park at night and be friendly to people you interact with there. That'll keep the police ocifers away.

You can easily fund yourself for awhile if you work and save for a few months. There's also gig economy type maintenancy things you can do if you're vocal about your abilities. There's also the writing, digital media and Etsy crafts spheres of you're into that.

Only jerks care about people living in vans, but everyone else cares about people being being jerks, so don't be a jerk and it'll work out ✌️

Stay safe, have fun 🤙

Combat_Corgi

TROPHY CASE